In this work we studied the electrochemical performance of Ba0.5Sr0.5Fe0.8Cu0.2O3-delta (BSFCu) as cathode for Intermediate Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (IT-SOFC) with Ce0.9Gd0.1O1.95 (CGO) electrolyte and the effect of the symmetric cell preparation temperature on the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity. Symmetrical cells with the configuration BSFCu/CGO/BSFCu were prepared at 900 degrees C, 950 degrees C and 1000 degrees C to perform the electrochemical characterization in the 500-700 degrees C temperature range. The resultant area specific resistance (ASR) of the cells with different preparation temperatures followed the tendency: ASR(900 degrees c) < ASR(950 degrees c) < ASR(1000 degrees c). The symmetric cell constructed at 900 degrees C showed ASR values of 0.18, 0.078 and 0.035 Omega cm(2) at 600, 650 and 700 degrees C respectively, which demonstrated superior electrochemical activities than previous reports. Additional, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning and transmission electron microscopies (SEM and TEM) techniques were used to characterize the microstructure of the original and fired BSFCu materials and correlate it with the cell preparation temperature. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.